A Guest Post from Marlee, who shares why she created her blog, and what she shares on her little space of the internet…

Author Bio

Marlee. Creator of Dishes by Hand, blog.

Life is crazy working as a full-time nurse and raising two beautiful little humans. Throw managing the chaotic schedule of renovating a fixer-upper home on a small budget and I begin to wonder how I manage to tie my own shoelaces every morning.

I enjoy what advances in technology have enabled our generation to accomplish. However, I maintain a more traditional lifestyle as a do-it-yourself homemaker with a more vintage style. I own a dishwasher because it’s 2018, however, I still wash my dishes by hand. I do this because I feel it works better and provides great bonding time and teaching moments with my kiddos.

I hope to offer creative solutions for renovations, parenting, and successfully (for the most part) managing a busy household by being thrifty and innovative. I hope you enjoy sharing my journey with me!

The Creation of Dishes by Hand

I always knew I was a little quirky and had many differences from my peers. For one thing, I’ve always been put off by trends. You know, the kind of trends that create a widespread panic and obsession. Some of the trends that make my skin crawl are those over-used Snapchat dog filter and flower crowns? Also, Pumpkin Spice lattes, pumpkin spice muffins, or pumpkin-spice ANYTHING for that matter. There are way better things to do than “Netflix and Chill.” I march to the beat of a different drum (and use all the corny metaphors like it’s nobody’s business).

So, when we decided to uproot our family and move away from all our loved ones to restart our lives I decided it was the perfect time to embrace my differences from most normal, trend-following people. I just wanted to be me!

First, I had to decide who exactly I was. You’d think it would be easy to recognize exactly who you are, but I realized many times people determine who they are based on the thoughts of others and job descriptions.

Who was I really?

I started with deciding what was important to me. I’m a full-time nurse raising two beautiful little humans, Connor (5) and Alyssa (3). They make my life complete, with their big chicklet toothed smiles, contagious laughter, and love for adventure. I love my job, I love caring for my patients. I have a fabulous, supportive husband whom I love deeply.

But is this all that I am? Nope, not a chance. I started to realize that my hobbies and quirky ways were in fact passions of mine. I may not become obsessed with the latest and greatest gadget but when I find something I love, I embrace it, and I run with it.

I’m secretly a big ball of anxiety, and although my anxiety can be difficult to overcome at times, I feel that it adds to my personality and my quirkiness. My anxieties help me research the best ways to raise my kids to be good people. It leads me to research the best storage systems (that also will not fall on my kiddos when they reach for something). It forces me to create a home environment conducive to relaxing and enjoying my family.

We fell in love with a small New Hampshire town just a few miles from the beach. At the time I had many friends and family members searching for new construction homes, and I was so dead-set against new construction. I wanted the vintage characteristic that come with an old house. The houses who need a little love and restoration. I wanted to make it our own. So, we chose the fixer-upper that had great bones but needed a ton of TLC in our dream neighborhood. My husband and I are determined to create our perfect, dream home room by room. This is difficult on a small budget, but we are DIY renovating and loving every minute of it.

Our first project, was to completely gut the kitchen, down to the studs. My biggest request was an oversized farmer sink. I didn’t even want a new dishwasher. I only agreed to a dishwasher for the resale appeal if ever needed.

This was when I realized something… Even though I enjoy what advances in technology have enabled our generation to accomplish, I hold onto the values from generations before me. I maintain a more traditional lifestyle as a do-it-yourself homemaker with a more vintage style. I look forward to family dinner each night (even if time only allows for cereal or frozen left-overs). I enjoy learning new crafting/needlework techniques and creating unique items. I prefer face-to-face communication and phone calls over email and texts. I own a dishwasher because it’s 2018, however, I still wash my dishes by hand. I do this because I feel it works better and provides great bonding time and teaching moments with my kiddos. This is why I branded myself Dishes by Hand. It doesn’t represent the task, but the purpose behind it.

I wanted something to ease my anxiety by embracing something I love so much.

Even though my opinion and lifestyle are different from most modern families, I wanted to find other like-minded mommas as passionate about these values as I am. I wanted something to ease my anxiety by embracing something I love so much.

I decided to do this by starting my very own blog and to put myself out there as my true quirky, energetic overly passionate self. It was the perfect time for the new venture after moving away from family and begining a total renovate on our new fixer-upper dream home! I had so much to share, and not enough like-minded people to share it with.

I hope to offer creative solutions for renovations, parenting, and successfully (for the most part) managing a busy household by being thrifty and innovative. I also hope to inspire others to do the same. If you hold some similar values, I welcome you to visit my blog www.dishesbyhand.com with wide open (virtual) arms. I hope you love it just as much as I do!

To follow Marlee, and everything new and upcoming at Dishes by Hand, follow her at one or all of the links below…